Horizon Forbidden West Review Roundup

Wildly considered as a Game of the Year contender, to say that Horizon Forbidden West is highly anticipated would be an understatement. As the sequel to the critical darling Zero Dawn, gamers this time will explore the mysterious frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the western United States. So, is this journey and sequel worth embarking on? Here's the review roundup:

GAMEINFORMER  (SCORE 9.25/10)
'Horizon Forbidden West reaches a new high bar for Guerrilla Games. It does more than surpass its predecessor; it takes Horizon’s fiction to captivating places and builds a rich world that rewards you for the effort you put into it. Mostly, it’s an entertaining experience, complete with jaw-dropping moments and unforgettable fights.'

For the full review please visit here.

IGN  (SCORE 9/10)
'A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5. Although the return of a couple of familiar series trappings and a noticeable lack of freeform climbing never threatens to derail the enjoyment, it does leave it falling frustratingly short of something revolutionary. Major evolutionary steps have firmly been placed in the right direction, however, and there’s no doubting the many, many hours of fun to have with Aloy, who stakes her claim further to be one of this generation of gaming’s greatest characters. Guerrilla has outdone itself yet again with Forbidden West, and at this trajectory, neither the horizon nor the sky's the limit for what could come next.'

For the full review please visit here.

GAMESRADAR+ (SCORE 4.5/5)
'What Guerrilla Games has achieved here is nothing short of phenomenal. Story, gameplay, mechanics, and the world itself are all such an improvement on the original game - which in itself is a feat alone. The climbing, ironically, is the only thing that really holds it back from utter perfection, but it's not enough to make Aloy's latest story go without anything bar the highest recommendation. You know a game is good when the robot dinosaurs aren't the thing you want to talk to your friends about first. '

For the full review please visit here.

GAMESPOT (SCORE 8/10) 
'Overall, though, Horizon Forbidden West does a lot more right than it does wrong. It might be jam-packed with stuff to see, do, know, and remember, but when its many systems come together, it can be a beautiful, exciting, and delightful open-world experience. The story that drives you through the frontier is often well-told and does well to center actual characters rather than audio logs, and while the map is littered with icons, it's much more often that they're fun, skillfully crafted diversions than random busywork to fill a checklist. There's a huge amount to do and see in Horizon Forbidden West, and the great majority of it is worth doing and seeing thanks to strong writing, great visuals, and some marked improvements to the series' underlying ideas.'

​For the full review please visit here.

SCREEN RANT (SCORE 9/10)
'In short, Horizon: Forbidden West is a lock-the-doors sci-fi epic packed to the brim with fascinating characters and countless pleasures that will take players many hours to completely devour. Much like the original, it stands head and shoulders above many other open-world adventure games because of its meticulous approach to the “world” part; this isn’t a scattering of differentiated environments with bland faceless NPCs and checklists to drain, but an exciting ecosystem to explore featuring dozens of excellently voiced, well-observed characters to interact with. It's the kind of sci-fi tale that takes bigger and bigger swings from start to finish, led by a protagonist who is, by now, immensely memorable and well-developed. It’s hard to imagine how a Zero Dawn fan could be at all dissatisfied with Guerilla Games’ choices here - the studio has delivered exactly what they were waiting for.'

For the full review please visit here.

EASY ALLIES (VIDEO REVIEW)

Overall, Horizon Forbidden West currently sits at a Metascore of 89 from 117 reviews (PS5). It definitely seems like a worthy successor, and a true contender for this year's Game of the Year. 

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